“You know the more you hold them in, the more they’re going to keep coming. You have to release it.”
Mikki walked up behind me and wrapped her arms around my midsection. She held me tight and it felt like every muscle I had melted into a puddle on the floor. I knew we were inside but when I closed my eyes it felt like I was bathing in sunlight. She was so warm, so calming, so Mikayla.
I didn’t deserve this peace she was giving me.
“You don’t know me, get off! I’m a piece of shit, I know it, everyone else knows it. You are the only one who hasn’t figured it out yet.” I shook my head and went to go sit on the couch. “I’m a fucking failure. Stop leaning on me, I’ll crumble.”
“Then let us be there to catch you. Who the fuck told you that you had to do it on your own? Who told you that you didn’t need a team to win? You can’t expect to take on the world single handed and be victorious. Let us help you and be there for you like you are here for us.” She scooted up closer to me and pressed her palms to my face. She looked deep into my eyes and caressed my face. “Alex, you are not a failure, you are down right now, but you will be back up. That strength in you demands it. You have no choice but to thrive.”
I sucked in a deep breath, this woman knew nothing about me but she was touching a part of me that no one had ever touched before, no one but Laura. I could feel the small inner flame that I thought was dead begin to smolder and spark back to life. My pride and ego ballooning back up with every second that passed.
“You are going to be a fucking problem aren’t you?” I asked, smiling slightly but pulling myself away from her. I sat back on the couch and tried to relax a bit.
“You know it.” She scooted back but didn’t stop looking at me. “So do you want to talk about it?”
I just felt a tiny bit of happiness, just now. I wanted to keep this feeling for a little while longer. “No, one day, we can talk about it but right now I want to know what happened back at your place. I want to know how you all came to be here, I want to know who is fucking with you.”
“Ok. Well I guess I should start from the beginning.”
Chapter 9- Mikki POV
I sat back on the couch, trying to gather my thoughts, I was about to explain my living nightmare to this man. I used to be ashamed but not anymore. Now when I had a chance to tell anyone the story I did. That way they wouldn’t fall for the same trap. I wouldn’t wish this life on anyone. Fear is not a state that someone should have to live in for long
“I took my sister from our home to follow her dream, she wanted to be a model and I thought that I had met someone who could really take her to the next level. The relationship with him happened quickly, I knew it was happening quickly but I trusted him. I was infatuated with the man. He promised that we would come to a big town and that she would get her big break. He knew all these really important people, had all these people who worked for him. It wasn’t long before I saw an evil in him, I could see it in his eyes but I wanted to believe that he was capable of change. That he would change for me. I packed up our stuff and without really knowing what we were doing I followed him.” I could feel the emotions beginning to rise inside of me. Every time I thought back on it I couldn’t understand how I could have been so stupid. I was raised better than that. “He told me that I would be able to find a new hospital to work in with no problems, that he had a place that my sister and I would be able to live comfortably.”
“Where are you all from?” Alex asked still paying close attention to my story.
“Canada, my mother moved us there from Spain when I was twelve and Vida was seven.”
I looked to his face to see if he had anything to say but he was patiently waiting for me to continue. “Anyway, when I met him I was trying to find a way to get Vida into modeling, she had the dream but not the drive. I was her drive. When we got here it was good at first. He got her a few commercial gigs and promised us that it would just take a little longer. Vida knew something was off but I didn’t want to believe her. That was until he started to leave us with the rest of his crew more and more and when I started to see the girls coming in one by one then by the dozens I knew she was right. He forced that shit into my sisters vein’s claiming that it would calm her down and then he started locking me in the room away from my sister. Finally he decided to auction off her virginity saying if she really wanted to make it in life she would need to sacrifice; I knew it was too late. I had given up my life and my sisters life for a monster. Turns out he was the leader of some huge sex trafficking ring with ties in all the wrong places, gangs, the mob and corrupt cops. He had a soft spot for me but once I started to speak up and go
